Lesson learned

Since the power outage from the ice storm I have tried to make a list of things I was glad I had and things I wish we had and that we desperately needed.

1. Indoor Safe Propane heater.................check. We just bought this at the Bass Pro Shop. It works off of two small propane tanks or off one big tank. It heats 400 sq. feet which is half my house. Which is sad that my house is that small but not sad that I can heat half my house off this thing.

2. Kerosene lanterns.............................check. Candles are nice and all but these lanterns give off a lot more light. The oil stores easily and goes a long way. I also have extra wicks for it too. It will be a great way to light our house. We do also have two propane lanterns but I think these are better to have for indoor use.

3. Phone list........................................check. I rely so much on the computer and my caller ID that I didn't have a lot of phone numbers that I wished I had had. Now I have a hard copy of the ward list, friends and neighbors and other important numbers.

4. Old school telephone............................check. I have one of the old phones that just plug straight into a phone jack and it doesn't need power at all. I had this already and was so grateful because it was the main way I communicated with people.

5. Car cell phone charger........................check. Luckily I had this already too. I was able to charge my cell phone so when I wasn't home I was able to keep in touch with Ryan. I had to sit in my car for about 15 minutes for it to charge but was happy I did have a way to do it.

6. Supply of batteries........................check. I get batteries at Costco so we always have a lot of them.

7. Extra diapers..........................check. That is the one thing I had to run around town to find. Most stores around us weren't open so I had to drive about 15 miles to Costco to get them. Not too bad but with the roads bad it took a long time. So now I try not to wait until I am almost out until I buy more.

8. Extra cash.............................check. You know if the power is out and people are still able to sell stuff they won't be able to take debit cards. It would be helpful to have some extra cash around in small bills, just in case.

9. Full tank of gas......................trying to be better at this. I was glad that when the storm came I did have a full tank of gas. I don't do very well with keeping my tank above half like they suggest so this is something I need to work on. When the power did come back on there were huge lines at the gas stations.

So these are the things I learned about during the power outages. If I had a heater, I would have been able stay in my house. I would have been able to feed my family from our camping stove and I had plenty of food for us. I felt like I had enough blankets and sleeping bags to keep us warm too. So now I am a little better prepared. It feels nice.